Training Log Archive: Swampfox

White stuff falling out of the sky--some kind of miracle? Winter returns, for some top notch ski conditions! By the time I was done, everyone else had been long done, judging by the parking lot.

O' running and streamer hanging at Pelican Bay. Still a good bit of snow in much of the sage and woodland areas--which makes up most of the map--and so tougher going than across the street (Remarkable Flats), and yet for this time of year, still quite, quite good.

I looked for bear tracks, and yet saw only moose and turkey.

O' run at Remarkable Flats. Small world moment when it turned out that Kissy was running out there too, and yet not so small world when in spite of the great visibility there, I never caught sight of her. Maybe she was wearing prairie gold camo?

After a quick ski mostly to verify the trails were still there--they were, but you never know--I headed over to Remarkable Flats to run under skies so blue they looked like a direct extraction from a dream. It was cold enough to re-freeze everything hard, and it never got so warm today so the snow drifts were hard and offered such good running that it almost made more sense to make micro route choices to take in as much drift running as possible. 24 controls was the prescribed dose for the outing, and I got them all before the coyotes started howling.

C • Neon and blinky lights 2

Today was a lot like yesterday, only better. Not quite as warm, but windier. Biked, then skied, and then headed out to Remarkable Flats for 28 controls worth of O'. Less than 5% of that involved any snow. It seems silly to say so, but it really feels like winter is going to be ending very early this year. (If that doesn't get blizzards deep in line to hit the area, nothing will!)

C • early 2

Another way warmer than normal day, with enough good wind to make any siren's sailor sing a chanty or two. The best way to feel the wind is on a road bike, so that was a must do. The main event however was orienteering at Rattlesnake Hill, with a special course designed to snake across a sunny side hill, and running the whole time away from the sun. Granted, with the course ending at the far east end of the map I still had to come back, but that was managed by a cool down run on a valley jeep trail.

It seemed like it could be a perfect day for sub-morons to be out and about, and yet I didn't see a single one. Perhaps the lure of legal substances south of the border is proving irresistible?

Today is 34 day--the day when the average daily high starts turning warmer again, from 33F for much of January to 34F. And it looks like the weather is really gunning for it! The old record high for today is 53F, and it's 55F already. If it goes down in the books, that will be three new record highs already for 2015.

No question about it, another record smashed by a massive margin of 4F degrees; old record high of 53F, new record high of 57F.

Lots of volume today--biked, skied, and ran O'--but the wind was up, the sun was out, the sky was blue, and if you don't take advantage of conditions like we had today, then you might as well hang it up and go ahead and buy yourself a funeral plot.

Very nice conditions at Happy Jack today--the best this season. Some new snow overnight had set up nicely after grooming, and there was enough wind to make it feel like SE Wyoming.

But I didn't ski long--just an hour or so--as the main dish on the menu today was an O' run. I ran until dark, and then ran enough longer to give the moon a chance to get higher in the sky.

First some fine skiing in new snow--it must have snowed at least some after grooming this morning--and then after sunset running, which graded out even higher. It never really got dark, what with a pretty big moon with an unobstructed path to all the fresh new snow. And Jupiter to the east and Venus in the SW were my guideposts. I think the Super Bowl cleared the area because I didn't spot a single light or hear a pole plant.

I got back home in time for the start of the 2nd half, and then it became a question of which traditional Super Bowl feast to have: pizza, or pickles. Pickles seemed the way to go this time around, and so it was. I garnished them with several hamburgers.

While I was skiing, I ran into a fellow who owns a local Crossfit studio. I asked him if he knew Charlie, but when he asked "the tunafish?" I was pretty sure he didn't. Sometimes it's a small world and other times it isn't.

C • Definitely not the tunafish 1